A few weeks ago, I tried tweezing my arm hair out instead of cutting. I only had these cheap broken tweezers, and it was all by choice, it wasn't against my will...
Well, anyway, today, me and my mom went over to this old lady's house we know. She is a compulsive hoarder. I was helping by cleaning the hall as best I could when my eyes laid on two brand new pairs of tweezers. The really fancy good tweezers too. I dunno what I was thinking.. But I pocketed them. I didn't know why...
Well, tonight, I started going into a panic attack. I had my razor at hand, but ended up putting it down and grabbing one of the two pairs of tweezers.. I tweezed my arms for hours. I just stopped maybe ten minutes ago. I didn't want to do it. I would stop for a few minutes, then get irritated for no reason and started tweezing again. I don't know what is wrong with me... Besides minor eyebrow and eyelash pulling, I have never really had a problem with Trichotillomania before.
I am glad that I started hair pulling rather then cutting, but still, that just adds another issue onto my already tremendous list.
Does anyone know how to stop this compulsion before it becomes habitual? Or do you know how to, just maybe, make it where it is a lot less noticeable if someone where to walk in? I have mastered cutting while around people, but I don't think I can tweeze, because of how long the tweezers are comparing to my razors... I really don't like the idea of compulsively pulling my arm hair out, though I had it in my eye hair, I had never noticed it, because I would usually do it at school when concentrating on something really hard...
And what can I tell my therapist... I still have to tell him I am a self injurer in general.. What about Trichotillomania? This is all so scary, and overwhelming. I'm not sure I know where to start...
i can understand that you pulled your hair, when you were trying not to cut. sometimes the anxiety just has to "go" somewhere.
i have had trich for about 20 years (i'm 30...still scares me to write that!) as well as other forms of self harm, including an eating disorder.
i find my hair pulling to cause me more pain than almost everything else in my life, so it's not something you want to ignore for too long.
i think that it would be a good idea to tell your therapist about any way that you self injure. it is common for a person to have more than one way, and the more open you are, the better they can help you work out what is going on for you.
please let me know if i can help any more. i'm sorry you are struggling, and i would be happy to give you some support.
I used to pull my hair as a way to not cut as well, dear. I pulled from my arms and the top of my head.
I stopped when I started bleeding because of it. And when my mom pointed out that the part on my hair was like, half and inch thick because of it.
What I did that helped me stop was I shaved the hair off of my arms. I shave my arms probably once a week. [[more often than I shave my legs!]] So I can't pull at it, and that has helped me a lot. And, I'm a tactile person, so the feeling of my smooth arms calms me down sometimes. I'm an odd one. haha
But I would agree that you might want to tell this to your therapist. They can help you out a lot. And help you find alternatives.
I've never had a bad problem with hair-pulling, but I do tend to scratch or bite at my arms when I want to avoid cutting or if Im in a situation where I can't cut.
To help me avoid scratching etc, I try to wear long sleeves and use regular distraction methods.
Failing that - could you try putting the tweezers away somewhere? Or putting them somewhere that requires a lot of effort to get them? (Like, I'd put them downstairs or something)
Well done for making such an effort not to cut, though =]
Edit:
Quote:
(Like, I'd put them downstairs or something)
I've just realised how lazy this makes me sound...haha
Thank you. All of you... I will try to tell my therapist ASAP, and get help... I just know, I am in the same therapy as my brother and they put him in a mental home 3 times..... I'm going on that statistic that they would flip out about self injury... of any kind..
And, I cannot shave my arms :/ that is the problem.. I cut anywhere my arm can take a cut. So there are uneven patterns of cuts up and down on the inner wrist, outer wrist, everwhere... But that would've been good advice, thank you..
I understand that you're scared :( *hugs*
But if it helps you, then it's a good thing right?
Your therapist is there to help you, and they need to know everything to do it properly.
Hope you feel better <3
Life is about love, last minutes and lost evenings,
About fire in our bellies and furtive little feelings,
And the aching amplitudes that set our needles all a-flickering,
And help us with remembering that the only thing that's left to do is live.
usually hospital is only used as a last resort, when self harm becomes life threatening. i don't know the situation with your brother, but you should be able to receive support for your problems during regular therapy sessions.
